By Dr. Seitz, Professor of Psychology
There is a big push now to legalize the recreational use of marijuana (hereafter abbreviated MJ). Several states either have enacted or are in the process of enacting such legislation. It’s easy to foresee a time when MJ will be legal in all 50 states.
It doesn’t seem to matter that research evidence indicates that MJ can be hazardous to health. Tobacco was once said not to be hazardous to health. We know now that it is. I can also foresee a time when it will be illegal to restrict the use of legalized MJ on university campuses; consequently, I think we need to set out our rationale and community standards for restricting MJ use along with the existing ones for tobacco and alcohol (now legal drugs) in order to be consistent.
I’m sure some here believe we ought to go in the opposite direction, to relax the restrictions on the use of tobacco, alcohol, and MJ on this campus. But AU was founded by persons who believed in restricting the use of drugs by students on campus for their own good, and many of our students come here because they want to be on an alcohol and drug free campus.
This campus has been like a home to generations of like-minded people. Others are welcome to visit as long as they agree to abide by our house rules while in our house. It would be immoral for persons who are pro-MJ advocates to take possession of our home and make it unlivable for those who are it’s heirs. Dispossessing the rightful occupants would be like a home invasion. And God forbid that any faculty members here would teach our students that using MJ is a God-given and God-blessed right just because MJ is a naturally occurring plant. There were things in the garden of Eden that Adam and Eve were instructed not to eat. Besides, this world is now fallen, so not everything that is was intended ideally by God to be as it now is. All AU constituents ought to read/reread and heed Luke 17:1-4.
Those with ears, hear.
